US-Saudi partnership critical to confront Iran, says Pompeo after meeting Prince Faisal

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met his Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Wednesday and discussed "the continued need to counter the Iranian regime's destabilizing behaviour” among other things. He further took to Twitter and said that the US-Saudi partnership is critical. Pompeo also added that the US and Saudi share a common interest for de-escalation in Yemen.  

Read: Trump justifies Soleimani’s killing again, says he was targeting four US embassies

US-Saudi's second meeting in three months 

Reportedly, this was the second time in three months that Pompeo and the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister have met. A state department spokesperson in a statement said, "Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met today with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Washington, D.C. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Al Saud discussed bilateral and regional issues of mutual concern, including the continued need to counter the Iranian regime's destabilizing behaviour." 

Read: Trump remains silent after Iran's admission, tweets on everything but Ukrainian jet crash

The two leaders expressed their concern over the recent violence in Yemen, including Houthi cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia. They agreed on the need to swiftly return to de-escalation. Pompeo also stressed on a political solution to the conflict facilitated by UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths.  

Read: Justin Trudeau seeks answers from Iran, asks them to take 'full responsibility'

Tensions between Iran & US      

The longstanding tension between Iran and the US surfaced again as Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was slain by the US in an airstrike near Iraq's Baghdad International Airport, ordered by US President Donald Trump.  Post this, Iran had threatened "harsh retaliation" and subsequently, many airstrikes were reported near the US Embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone.  

Furthermore, a major attack was also launched on the Al-Assad and Ebril airbases in Iraq. The bases were hit by a ballistic missiles that houses the US and coalition forces. This incident was first reported by Iranian state TV, which described it as Tehran’s revenge operation over the killing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Qassem Soleimani.    

Following the developments, Trump said that the US would strike 52 sites in the Islamic Republic if any Americans were harmed. After this, there has been a continuous war of words between the officials of the two countries.  

(With ANI Inputs, Image Source: @SecPompeo/Twitter)

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